Favorite Pastor Quotes 10

Favorite Pastor Quotes 10

Mark him down as a proud man!

(Ashton Oxenden, "The Touchstone of Humility")

One way in which a really humble Christian shows himself, is by having a high opinion of others. Paul says, "In lowliness of mind--let each esteem other better than himself." "Honor one another above yourselves."

Whenever you see a person who appears to take every opportunity of putting down others--mark him down as a proud man--and be sure that he does it in order to exalt himself!

On the other hand, whenever you see any one anxious to hide his brother's failings, unwilling to expose his little defects--you will generally find that he is a humble man, and one who deeply feels the many faults of his own character.
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The evangelistic methods of our present golden-calf Christianity!

(A.W. Tozer)

Any objection to the evangelistic methods of our present golden-calf Christianity, is met with the triumphant reply, "But we are winning the lost!"

And what are you winning them to?

To true discipleship?
To cross-carrying?
To self-denial?
To separation from the world?
To crucifixion of the flesh?
To holy living?
To nobility of character?
To a despising of the world's treasures?
To total committal to Christ?

Of course, the answer to all these questions is NO!

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His teaching makes practical Christians!

(James Smith)

"But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name--He will teach you all things!" John 14:26

The Holy Spirit is the Teacher of the church. To Him the promise refers, "All Your children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children."

He taught the apostles all things necessary for their office and work.

He teaches the true ministers of Christ, leading them into the truth as it is in Jesus.

And He teaches every believer--all that is really necessary for him to know!

The Bible is the lesson-book, 
the believer is the scholar, 
the blessed Spirit is the teacher, and
experimental religion is the education! 

No one teaches like Him!
He teaches us . . .
  gradually,
  silently, and
  always effectually!
For only what the Spirit teaches us--do we really know!

He teaches us . . .
  what God requires in His Word,
  what He has provided in His gospel;
  what Christ is to His people,
  what His people are to Him.

His teaching makes practical Christians--for He always teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in the present world!

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We would never commit a sin!

(Charles Spurgeon, "How God Condemned Sin") 

Such are the assemblage of graces found only in Jesus, each sparkling with peerless luster, and all blending with such exquisite gracefulness--that we are at once moved with awe and touched with love as we contemplate Him.

Such majesty--and yet such meekness in His demeanor.

Such solemnity--and yet such tenderness in His speech.

So impartial in judgment--and yet so forgiving in temper.

So full of zeal--and yet so equally full of patience.

So keen to detect malice--and yet so slow to resent it.

Such a wise mentor--and yet such a gentle sympathizing friend.

Jesus was perfectly . . .
   innocent,
   harmless,
   gentle,
   meek,
   loving,
   tender.

All His words were love.

All His actions were kindness.

We would never commit a sin, if we would but first say to ourselves, "Would Jesus have done this?"

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The Infinite has become an infant!

(Charles Spurgeon, "The Condescension of Christ!")

"Even angels long to look into these things!" 1 Peter 1:12

Oh, how surprised angels were, when they were first informed that Jesus Christ, the Prince of Light and Majesty, intended to shroud Himself in clay and become a babe, and live and die! We do not know how it was first mentioned to the angels--but when the rumor first began to get afloat among the sacred hosts, you may imagine what strange wonderment there was.

What! Was it true that He whose crown was all bedecked with stars, would lay that crown aside?

What! Was it certain that He about whose shoulders was cast the government of the universe, would become a man dressed in a peasants garment?

Could it be true that He who was everlasting and immortal, would one day be nailed to a cross?

And when He descended from on high, they followed Him; for Jesus was "seen by angels," and seen in a special sense, for they looked upon Him in rapturous amazement, wondering what it all could mean.

Oh, can you conceive the yet increasing wonder of the heavenly hosts when He put aside His majesty--when they saw the tiara taken off, when they saw Him unbind His belt of stars, and cast away His sandals of gold?

Can you conceive it, when He said to them: "I do not disdain the womb of the virgin--I am going down to earth to become a man!"

And now wonder, you angels, the Infinite has become an infant!

He, upon whose shoulders the universe hangs--hangs at His mothers bosom!

He who created all things, and bears up the pillars of creation--has now become so weak that He must be carried by a woman!

And oh, wonder, you angels who knew Him in His riches, while you admire His poverty!

Where does the new-born King sleep? Had He the best room in Caesar's palace? Has a cradle of gold been prepared for Him, and pillows of down, on which to rest His head? No! Where the ox fed, in the dilapidated stable, in the feeding trough--there the Savior lies, swathed in the swaddling bands of the children of poverty!

See Him who made the worlds--handle the hammer and the nails, assisting Joseph in the trade of a carpenter!

Mark Him who has put the stars on high, and made them glisten in the night; mark Him without one star of glory upon His brow--a simple child, as other children.

Let us leave the scenes of His childhood and His earlier life. See Him when He becomes a man--as for His food, He oftentimes hungered; and always was dependent upon the charity of others for the relief of His needs!

He who scattered the harvest over the broad acres of the world--at times had nothing to stop the pangs of His hunger!

He who dug the springs of the ocean--sat upon a well and said to a Samaritan woman, "Give me a drink!"

He rode in no chariot, but He walked His weary way, foot-sore, over the flints of Galilee!

He had no where to lay His head. He looked upon the fox as it hurried to its burrow, and the fowl as it went to its resting-place, and He said, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests--but I have nowhere to lay my head."

He who had once been waited on by angels--becomes the servant of servants, takes a towel, girds Himself, and washes His disciples' feet!

He who was once honored with the hallelujahs of ages--is now spit upon and despised!

Oh, there are no words to picture the humiliation of Christ! What leagues of distance between Him that once sat upon the throne--and Him that died upon the cross! Oh, who can tell the mighty chasm between yon heights of glory--and the cross of deepest woe!

Trace Him, Christian. Follow Him all His journey through. Begin with Him in the wilderness of temptation, see Him fasting there, and hungering with the wild beasts around Him. Trace Him along His weary way, as the Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He is the byword of the drunkard, He is the song of the scorner, and He is hooted at by the malicious--see Him as they point their finger at Him, and call Him a "drunken man and wine-bibber!"

Follow Him along His 'Via Dolorosa', until at last you meet Him among the olive groves of Gethsemane--see Him sweating great drops of blood!

Follow Him to the pavement of Gabbatha--see Him pouring out rivers of gore beneath the cruel whips of Roman soldiers!

With weeping eye follow Him to the cross of Calvary, see Him nailed there!

Mark His poverty--so poor that His unpillowed head is girt with thorns in death!

Oh, Son of Man, I know not which to admire most--Your height of glory--or Your depths of misery!

If I had a tale to tell you this day of some king, who, out of love to some fair maiden, left his kingdom and became a peasant like herself--you would stand and wonder, and would listen to the charming tale. But when I tell of God concealing His dignity to become our Savior--our hearts are scarcely touched!

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich!" 2 Corinthians 8:9

Are You Normal?

Are You Normal?

Are you normal? You would probably answer yes to that question, but do you really know what normality is for a human being?

After all, a knowledge of normality is the only basis upon which we can diagnose accurately. That is why we have to understand very clearly how God created us: only then can we have an intelligent understanding of what has gone wrong, and its consequences, and what God has done to put things right.

In Psalm 8, David asks God, "What is man that You are mindful of him?" Then David acknowledges, "You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet" (Psalm 8:4-6). This was man in his innocence, man in normality, man as God created him in Adam: crowned with glory!

What was the glory with which God crowned man? God had said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness: ( Genesis 1:26). Man in the image of God was to be equipped by His divine indwelling, the Holy Spirit occupying the human spirit, so that man would manifest the very glory of God. It was a derived glory, exclusively dependent upon the presence of the Creator within the creature. Likewise the authority man was to exercise over the earth was the authority that derived exclusively from his submission to God's authority.

The Bible makes it abundantly clear that God Himself (the Creator within the creature) must be the origin of His own image. After God completed His work of creation by creating man, "God saw that everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). What did He see in that moment when He looked at man whom He created in His perfect image? He saw Himself! For "God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him" (Genesis 1:27).

God Himself, as our Creator, always intended that He should indwell us; His cherished ambition was to be seen and heard in those He created. That is normality for a human being, when God Himself is behaving in and through a man or woman. This is the purpose for which He created us, that we might be a physical, visible expression on this earth of the God who is otherwise invisible, as John tells us: "No one has seen God at any time" (John 1:18).

God created each human being with a physical, visible, and audible body to be inhabited by an invisible God, to make Himself visible through what that person does and says and is. God Himself must be the origin of this activity within us, which is called "righteousness. God is the author of all righteousness, and for you and me to produce it, He must be within us the origin of His own image, the source of His own activity, the dynamic of His own demands, and the cause of His own effect.

Therefore if any human being is truly normal in his or her behavior, there is only One Person to be congratulated, and that is God Himself. Normality for a human being is when God can be seen by anything and everything which that person does and says and is.

Our "natural" man, or who we are in our flesh, is void of righteousness and also of any true spirituality: "The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). The natural man cannot know the things of the Spirit of God because he is morally and intellectually incapacitated. The natural man is not normal; he is not what God created and intended man to be. In his fallen condition he is destitute, empty, and alienated from the person of his Creator. 

The moment you come to realize that only God can make a person righteous and godly, you are left with no option but to find God, and to know Him, and to let God be God in and through you, whatever that will mean. This will leave you with no margin for picking and choosing, for there is only one God, and He is absolute, and He made you expressly for Himself.

"Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and .... put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:23-24).

1. How normal are you? What is true normality for a human being?

2. What does it mean "to let God be God in and through you?

~W. Ian Thomas~

What Kind of a Christian?

What Kind of a Christian?

God is the absolute source of righteousness, but there is also an absolute source of unrighteousness - the devil. All human activity derives from one or the other of these two origins.

That is why the Bible says, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). Whatever does not derive from your attitude of total dependence upon God, whatever does not release God's activity through your life, is sin. It is sin because it stems from an attitude of independence that makes you open to any and all of satan's deceptions in his long history of usurping God's authority.

Every step you take, every attitude you adopt, every decision you make, everything you do and all you hope to be, is either in dependence upon the God who created you as His own dwelling place, or else the byproduct of the demon spirit of this world, "who now works in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2), and who perpetuates his lies through a mindset of self-reliance in fallen humanity.

The Bible calls this attitude of independence a "carnal mind" (Romans 8:7). It is a mind that is set "on the things of the flesh" rather than on "the things of the spirit" (Romans 8:5). It means exercising the faculties of your personality in ways that are not dependent on the God whose presence alone imparts to you the quality of true humanity that He always intended for you.

It means thinking godlessly. In other words, thinking lightlessly, with a mind still in darkness. You take a step, you make a decision, you conceive your plans, you assume a responsibility, all without relating the situation to God and to His light and to all that He is within you.

This carnal mind can be in the believer just as much as in the unbeliever. Carnal or fleshly Christians have been regenerated by the restoration of the Holy Spirit to their human spirit but in certain ways they still repudiate the Spirit's legitimate right to reestablish the rule of Christ in their minds, in their emotions, and in their wills. Although they profess Christ as Redeemer, their actions and decisions typically are taken for the sake of their own interests and for who they are in themselves, rather than for God's interests and for who He is. Their minds are still the plaything and the workshop of the devil, for the devil is smart enough and cunning enough that he can always persuade countless numbers of professing Christians to try and be Christians without Christ. They are willing to do anything for Jesus' sake, but they fail to understand that His presence is absolutely imperative to do it, that without Him we are nothing, have nothing, and can do nothing.

To be a carnal Christian is still to claim the right to exercise your own jurisdiction, make your own decisions and plans, choose your own pathway. But you will be useless to God, and you will make it into heaven only "as through fire" (1 Corinthians 3:15).

What kind of Christian do you want to be? To choose to be a carnal Christian is to choose spiritual oblivion. But if you decide genuinely that Christ must be everything, and have everything in your life, if you say in your heart, "I want nothing less that to be all that for which the blood of God's dear Son was shed," then He is ready to lead you into discoveries that can completely revolutionize your whole humanity for time and eternity.

"He who sins is of the devil" (1 John 3:8).

1. In what ways might there be some self-dependence behind any current plans or decisions that you may have made? Of what current attitudes or actions of self-dependence in your life do you need to repent?

2. In the responsibilities, duties, and activities that lie immediately ahead, what can you identify as God's purpose and interests? What is He wanting to accomplish?

3. What kind of Christian do you truly want to be? How would you express this in your own words?

~W. Ian Thomas~

Favorite Pastor Quotes 7

Favorite Pastor Quotes 7

Formula for Personal Growth

James 1:22

Growing in Christ involves far more than just attending church, tithing, and listening to a sermon. In fact, many believers do these yet remain stagnant in their walk. There are two elements necessary for us to become more like Jesus: instruction and involvement.

The first of these, learning truth, is vital to a healthy walk with God. Our Savior proved the importance of instruction by devoting much of His time on earth to it. The apostle Paul is another example, as he wrote letters to educate Christians about godliness.

So how can we gain knowledge and understanding? One of the most important and effective ways is to read the Word of God. Scripture instructs us that just as newborns crave milk, we are to desire His Word so that we might grow. I pray your spiritual thirst will become insatiable.

Yet simply listening to the truth does not mean that we've acquired it. I know many people who love attending Bible studies and expanding their knowledge base, but their lives remain unchanged. Just as today's passage teaches, we have to apply the Word to our lives. Even so, actual growth requires more than merely inputting information. It requires action.James 2:26 states, "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead."

Are we careless hearers, deceived into thinking that we're growing? Or are we listening intently and abiding in the truth? If we're truly maturing, our lives will be increasingly Christlike, and our desires will align more closely with God's heart. Make sure that you are listening and responding to His truth.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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The Vital Sign of Pride

Pride and self-sufficiency are unmistakable signs of a heart that is in desperate need of reviving.  Isaiah 57:15tells us,

For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

To have a contrite heart literally means you break easily.  Even at the thought of grieving God's Spirit you break and repent very quickly.  It means you walk softly in your heart before God. 

God says He will revive those with a humble spirit and a contrite heart.  But one of the great dangers among Christians today--especially for those living in the western world with all of its abundance--is a belief that we don't need anything.

More than ever we need to read the words of Jesus in Revelation 3:17,

"Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked."

How can you be miserable and naked and not know it?   It's obvious that Jesus is speaking of their inward, spiritual condition.  Apparently, their outward wealth blinded them to their inward poverty.   They fell into the trap of pride, which is one of the inherent dangers that comes with prosperity.  As Christians living in a very prosperous western world, we need to heed this word!

At Disneyland there is a ride with cool little cars.  I remember once seeing a little boy on the ride with his dad, and his feet didn't even reach the pedals!  But Junior thought he was driving, oblivious to the fact that Daddy was actually driving the car and making it go. 

We need to remember that our feet don't even reach the pedals, and that Daddy, our God, is the One who makes this thing go.  We need to maintain a humble heart.

~Bayless Conley~

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Today's Reading: Job 25; Acts 12

Today's Thoughts: Step into New Land

Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. - Genesis 12:1-5

The Lord called Abram out. He told him to leave his country, not just his home, but his country. God told Abram to leave his family and head towards a new land. Can we begin to imagine how Abram must have felt? I wonder if his family thought he was crazy. Let's see now--you are going to leave your home, family, country and head to a land that you have not seen yet? Abram did leave his home and country behind and went as the Lord directed him. Abram was a man of great faith. He believed in the promises of God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.

In the New Testament, Jesus told his disciples a similar message when he said, "Follow Me." To follow Jesus meant leaving everything else behind, including homes and families. Some did and some did not. The same is true today. How many of us are truly willing to forsake all for the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do we really have to go to such extremes in this day and age? In our hearts, we must answer those questions. Despite our behaviors and outward appearances, God knows our hearts. If we are willing to surrender all to Jesus, the Lord will do the rest.

Think upon these verses today. Maybe God has a new land that awaits you. Without a doubt, God has blessings planned for your life, planned from before you were born. Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone? If so, this could be the step that changes your life in amazing ways.

~Daily Disciples Devotional~

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A Clean Heart

Psalms 119:9-11

Reaching our full potential begins with a clean heart--one that loves the Lord and desires to obey Him. However, each of us was born with a nature bent away from God. Jeremiah 17:9describes the heart as deceitful and inclined towards wickedness. Pleasing self is man’s normal state.

Salvation changed our hearts and lives. Jesus’ death on the cross paid the penalty for our sin and broke its power over us. By receiving Christ as Savior, we each became a new creation--with a heart sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading and a mind that strongly desires to know the Father better. We also received the Spirit’s power to deny our selfish desires and obey God. With clean hearts, we can begin to realize the capabilities our loving Lord has given us.

The best way to maintain a clean heart is by meditating on Scripture. It acts like a mirror in which we see ourselves as God does. Through it, we discover the areas where we have been faithful and also the places where we’ve veered from His path. Expressing genuine repentance brings God’s forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9).

The heart represents the seat of our mind, will, and emotions. When we strive to keep it pure, we will more easily discern the Lord’s plan, submit our will to His, and follow Him obediently.

Becoming the person God planned for each of us to be requires an intimate relationship with Him and a desire to obey His Word. Apart from Jesus, we can’t achieve anything of lasting value (John 15:5). Cooperating with the Holy Spirit’s transforming work will help us keep our hearts clean.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Refreshing Sleep

"So He giveth His beloved sleep" (Psalm 127:2).
Ours is not a life of anxious care but of happy faith. Our heavenly Father will supply the wants of His own children, and He knoweth what we have need of before we ask Him. We may therefore go to our beds at the proper hour and not wear ourselves out by sitting up late to plot, and plan, and contrive. If we have learned to rely upon our God, we shall not lie awake with fear gnawing at our hearts; but we shall leave our care with the LORD, our meditation of Him shall be sweet, and He will give us refreshing sleep.

To be the LORD's beloved is the highest possible honor, and he who has it may feel that ambition itself could desire no more, and therefore every selfish wish may go to sleep. What more is there even in heaven than the love of God? Rest, then, O soul, for thou hast all things. Yet we toss to and fro unless the LORD Himself gives us not only the reasons for rest but rest itself. Yea, He doth this. Jesus Himself is our peace, our rest, our all, On His bosom we sleep in perfect security, both in life and in death.

Sprinkled afresh with pardoning blood,
I lay me down to rest
As in the embraces of my God,
Or on my Saviour's breast.

~Charles Spurgeon~

Favorite Pastor Quotes 6

Favorite Pastor Quotes 6

Rich to all eternity!

(Charles Spurgeon)

No matter what your wealth, if you have not Christ--you are miserably poor. "The rich man also died and was buried. In Hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him: Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire!" Luke 16:22-24
But with Christ--you are rich to all eternity! "We have a priceless inheritance--an inheritance that is kept in Heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay!" 1 Peter 1:4
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Quicken our poor, cold, lifeless souls! 
(James Smith, "The Evening Sacrifice; Or, A Help to Devotion")

"My soul cleaves unto the dust--quicken me according to Your Word!" Psalm 119:25 

What powerful attractions the present world has! How prone we are . . .
  to sink down to its level,
  to become attached to its customs,
  and to cleave to its vanities! 
Yet, at the best, it is but dust. There is nothing in the world to satisfy or suit an immortal mind. 

Jesus died for us--to deliver us from this present evil world. The Holy Spirit urges us to rise above it, and offers us His divine and all-sufficient aid. He will not force, but only attract or draw. Alas! that we should . . . 
  slight His intimations,
  disregard His exhortations,
  and grieve His loving heart!

We are not of the world--and yet how worldly we are! We are born from above--but yet how earthly we remain! Our souls go out after things that are carnal, drossy, dusty, contemptible--to the neglect of things that are spiritual, pure, holy, and invaluable. 

Heavenly Father, we confess our folly, we deplore our ingratitude, we condemn our conduct. We feel weak and feeble when we attempt to burst our bonds, and mount upwards to Your throne. O quicken, quicken us! By the power of Your Holy Spirit, and by bringing home Your inspired Word--quicken our poor, cold, lifeless souls! 
Have You not promised to be as the dew unto Your people, coming down graciously, gradually, and gently upon them--in order to revive their graces, quicken their devotions, and cause them to grow up into Christ? O come down upon our dry and thirsty souls as the dew--or fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants.

Quicken us--and so will we mount up to Your throne, and do Your righteous will. Quicken us--and so Jesus will be precious to us, and the work of the Lord will be pleasant to us.
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Consider Your Ways!

Francis Bourdillon
 

"Now therefore, thus says the LORD Almighty: Consider your ways!" Haggai 1:5

This was God's message to the people of Jerusalem; but it is His word to us, as well as to them. He would have all to consider their ways. People are too apt to live without thought. They fall into habits almost insensibly. One person does what he sees another do; there are many who follow custom blindly, and numbers have no other rule than their own pleasure.

God would not have us live so. He would have us think — and think seriously. He says to us, "Consider your ways" — set your heart on your ways, think about them, examine them well.

Now this is a thing, not merely to hear about or to read about — but to do. Each person is to do it for himself, to consider his own ways; and a very serious and important thing it is. For every way has an end; there is no way that does not lead somewhere. In order to help us to consider our ways, here are some questions which we may ask ourselves about them:

1. Has conscience anything to say against our way? Do we know, or even suspect, that our way is not a right way? How is our time passed? What are we doing on our week-days? How are we spending our Sundays? Of what kind are our pursuits, our pleasures, our companions? Has conscience anything to say against us on these points, and does it sometimes speak?

2. Are our ways according to the Bible? It is very important to have a clear conscience, but conscience itself must be taught by the word of God. It is not enough that we should do what we think to be right — we must do what God says is right. Are our ways then according to the Bible? With many shortcomings, can we yet take that blessed book and say, "This is what I desire to follow; this is my rule, my guide, my pattern; this is how I wish and try to live"?

3. Another question we should ask ourselves is this: "What shall we think of our ways hereafter?" Whatever we may think of them now, are they such as we shall look back upon with comfort in time to come? Sickness and the approach of death give very different views of things — from life and health. What will our ways seem to us when eternity is near? What will our thoughts be when we look back upon our present time and the way in which we are spending it; upon the opportunities and means, the gifts and talents, which we now have, and which we are certainly using in some way or other? What shall we think of our present ways, when we come to consider them as past ways?

4. Another solemn question may be drawn directly from the Bible itself. We read there of two ways — the broad way, and the narrow way — the way of death, and the way of life. Our way is one or other of these. Which? This is a solemn question; and all the more so on this account, that many are in the broad way — and few in the narrow way. Men do not like to think this. But it is true, as true as the words of God's own truth can make it: "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13-14). Which are we among — the many, or the few? Which is our way — the broad, or the narrow way? What will our end be — destruction or life?

5. Jesus said, "I am the way." Is He our way? It is not enough to be sincere and in earnest; we must go by that way which God has provided — or we shall certainly find that our way is not the way of eternal life. Jesus is the way — the only way; no man comes unto the Father but by Him — neither is there any other name by which we can be saved. When we are considering our ways, we must not leave out this point. We must make sure that our hopes are built on the right foundation, that we are looking to Christ alone, that our feet are on the rock. If Christ is not to us the way, the truth, and the life — then, whatever our ways may be in other points, they are certainly wrong, deeply fatally and eternally wrong!

6. Once more. We read of Enoch that he "walked with God," and the same is said of Noah — and that too in an ungodly age. Here is another thing to ask of ourselves about our ways. Do we walk with God? Are we in the habit of holding communion with Him in secret? And at all times, in private and in public — do we try to maintain a sense of His presence, to live near to Him, and to follow His holy will? The apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?" Is that true of us? Have we the Spirit of God? Are we growing in grace? Are we making progress? As years advance — do our souls advance too?

Here then are six different points of inquiry about our ways:

  Are they against conscience?

  Are they according to the Bible?

  What shall we think of them hereafter?

  Are we in the broad way, or the narrow way?

  Is Christ our way?

  Do we daily walk with God?

It is God Himself who bids us consider our ways; "Now, therefore, thus says the Lord Almighty: Consider your ways!" It is a plain direct message from Him, as though the prophet had said, "Now therefore it is not I who speak to you, but the Lord Himself! He who knows all your doings, He whose eye is always upon you, He who is aware of every secret motive that influences you — He bids you stop and think. He Himself calls upon you to turn away your thoughts from trifles and from worldly things — and to fix them upon yourselves and your ways. This is the Lord's will, the Lord's command."

Why does God thus command us? That if our ways are wrong — we may amend them; that we may repent and turn; that we may seek and find mercy; that we may be safe and happy. "God is love." In His very warnings and exhortations, He is love. The people at Jerusalem did consider their ways. We read that they "obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord." And what followed? "Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message: I am with you, declares the Lord." Even so will the Lord receive, pardon, save, and bless all who consider their ways, and turn and seek Him by Christ Jesus.

"I am with you" — He said to the repentant people of Jerusalem. "I am with you" — He says to all who hear, believe, and obey. When God is with us — then our ways are happy indeed, happy as they never were before. Then we have a Father in Heaven; then we have a Savior; then we have a Friend in all trouble, and a helper in all difficulty. Then we have pardon and peace, a conscience clear, a mind at ease, and a good hope for eternity. This may be ours, freely and fully ours — if we will seek it in and through Christ Jesus; and the very first step is to consider our ways, as before God, asking the help of His Holy Spirit!

Favorite Pastor Quotes 5

Favorite Pastor Quotes 5

The Minimum Christian!

(C.H. Spurgeon, "Sword and the Trowel")

The minimum Christian! And who is he? The Christian who is going to heaven at the cheapest rate possible. The Christian who intends to get all of the world he can--and not meet the worldling's doom. The Christian who aims to have as little religion as he may--without lacking it altogether.

The minimum Christian goes to worship in the morning; and in the evening also--unless it rains, or is too warm, or too cold, or he is sleepy, or has the headache from eating too much at dinner. He listens most respectfully to the preacher, and joins in prayer and praise. He applies the truth very judiciously--sometimes to himself, oftener to his neighbors.

The minimum Christian is very friendly to all good works. He wishes them well, but it is not in his power to do much for them. The Sunday-school he looks upon as an admirable institution--especially for the neglected and ignorant. It is not convenient, however, for him to take a class--his business engagements are so pressing during the week that he needs the Sabbath as a day of rest; nor does he think himself qualified to act as a teacher. There are so many persons better prepared for this important duty--that he must beg to be excused. He is very friendly to home and foreign missions, and colportage, and gives his mite--but he is quite unable to aid in the management, for his own concerns are so excessively important. He thinks there are "too many appeals;" but he gives, if not enough to save his reputation, pretty near it--at all events he aims at it, and never overshoots the mark.

The minimum Christian is not clear on a number of points. The opera and dancing, the theater and card-playing, and large fashionable parties give him much trouble. He cannot see the harm in this, or that, or the other popular amusement. There is nothing in the Bible against it. He does not see why a Christian may not dance or go to the opera. He knows several excellent persons who do so--at least, so he says. Why should not he? He stands so close to the dividing-line between the people of God and the people of the world--that it is hard to say on which side of it he is actually to be found.

Ah, my brother, are you making this attempt? Beware, lest you find at last that in trying to get to Heaven with a little religion--you miss it altogether; lest without gaining the whole world--you lose your own soul. True godliness demands self-denial and cross-bearing--and if you have none of these, you are making a false profession!

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The cup of wrath!

(Andrew Bonar, "The Cup of Wrath!")

"In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of red wine mixed with spices! He pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs!" Psalm 75:8

There has been only One who has ever drunk this cup down to its very dregs!

Cain has been drinking it for 5,000 years and finds that his punishment greater than he can bear--but has not come to the dregs.

Judas had been drinking it for some 2000 years, often crying out with a groan that shakes Hell, "Oh that I had never been born! Oh that I had never seen or heard of the Lord Jesus Christ!" But he has not reached the dregs.

The fallen angels have not come near the dregs!

The only One who has taken, tasted, drunk, and wrung out the bitterest of the bitter dregs--has been the Judge Himself, the Lord Jesus!

You know how often, when on earth, He spoke of it. "Are you able to drink the cup that I shall drink of?" (Matthew 20:22). "The cup which My Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11).

The universe saw Him with it at His lips. It was our cup of trembling--the cup in which the wrath due to His people was mixed. What wrath, what woe! A few drops made Him cry, "Now is my soul deeply troubled!" In the garden, the sight of it wrung out the strange, mysterious words, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death!" Though God-man, He staggered at what He saw, and went on trembling.

The next day, on Calvary, He drank it all! I suppose the three hours of darkness may have been the time when He was drinking it down the very dregs; for then arose from His broken heart, the wail which so appealed to the heart of the Father, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me!" As He drank the last drop, and cried out, "It is finished!" we may believe that the holy angels felt an inconceivable relief--and even the Father Himself! So tremendous was the wrath and curse!--the wrath and curse due to our sin!

Jesus drank that cup as the substitute for His innumerable people, who were given to Him by the Father; and thereby freed them from ever tasting even one drop of that fierce wrath, that "cup of red wine, mixed with spices," with its dregs--its unknown terrors!

"Death and the curse were in our cup,
 O Christ, 'twas full for Thee!
 But Thou hast drained the last dark drop,
 'Tis empty now for me!"

"Once it was mine, that cup of wrath,
 And Jesus drank it dry!"

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Lord, smite this sin!

(Thomas Watson, "The Godly Man's Picture Drawn with a Scripture Pencil)

"Your Word is completely pure, and Your servant loves it." Psalm 119:140

Do we love the holiness of the Word? The Word is preached--to beat down sin, and advance holiness. Do we love it for its spirituality and purity? Many love the Preached Word only for its eloquence and notion. They come to a sermon as to a performance (Ezekiel 33:31,32) or as to a garden to pick flowers--but not to have their lusts subdued or their hearts purified. These are like a foolish woman who paints her face--but neglects her health!

Do we love the convictions of the Word? Do we love the Word when it comes home to our conscience and shoots its arrows of reproof at our sins? It is the minister's duty sometimes to reprove. He who can speak smooth words in the pulpit--but does not know how to reprove, is like a sword with a fine handle, but without an edge! "Rebuke them sharply!" (Titus 2:15). Dip the nail in oil--reprove inlove--but strike the nail home!

Now Christian, when the Word touches on your sin and says, "You are the man!"--do you love the reproof? Can you bless God that "the sword of the Spirit" has divided between you and your lusts? This is indeed a sign of grace, and shows that you are a lover of the Word.

A corrupt heart loves the comforts of the Word--but not the reproofs: "You hate the one who reproves--and despise him who tells the truth!" (Amos 5:10). "Their eyes flash with fire!" Like venomous creatures that at the least touch, spit poison! "When they heard these things, they were enraged in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at him!" (Acts 7:54). When Stephen touched their sins--they were furious and could not endure it.

How shall we know that we love the reproofs of the Word?

When we desire to sit under a heart-searching ministry. Who cares for medicines that will not work? A godly man does not choose to sit under a ministry that will not work upon his conscience.

When we pray that the Word may meet with our sins. If there is any traitorous lust in our heart--we would have it found out, and executed! We do not want sin covered--but cured!

When we can open our heart to the sword of the Word and say, "Lord, smite this sin!"

When we are thankful for a reproof. "Let a righteous man strike me--it is a kindness; let him rebuke me--it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it." (Psalm 141:5). David was glad for a reproof.

Suppose a man were in the mouth of a lion, and another should shoot the lion and save the man--would he not be thankful? Just so, when we are in the mouth of sin, as of a lion, and the minister by a reproof shoots this sin to death--shall we not be thankful?

A gracious soul rejoices, when the sharp lance of the Word has pierced his abscess of sin! He wears a reproof like a jewel on his ear: "Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man's rebuke to a listening ear." (Proverbs 25:12).

To conclude, it is convicting preaching which must do the soul good. As a nipping frost prepares for the sweet flowers of spring--so a nipping reproof prepares the soul for comfort!

Favorite Pastor Quotes 4

Favorite Pastor Quotes 4

Let us try and not attend to its gewgaws!

(Mary Winslow)

"They are not of the world any more than I am of the world." John 17:14

The world and its 'nothings' are often a sad snare to God's saints! Oh that by faith we may overcome it all, and keep close to Jesus! We are not of the world--let us try and not attend to its gewgaws! Keep a more steadfast, unwavering eye upon Christ. He has gone a little before us, and stands beckoning us to follow Him.

Live for eternity! Let go of your hold upon the world! Receive this exhortation from an aged pilgrim, who, as she nears the solemn scenes of eternity, and more realizes the inexpressible joys that await us there--is anxious that all the believers who are traveling the same road might have their hearts and minds more disentangled from earth and earthly things, and themselves unreservedly given to Christ. Let us aim in all things to follow Him who, despising this world's show, left us an example how we should walk. Have your lamp trimmed and brightly burning, for every day and every hour brings us nearer and nearer to our eternal home!

"They are not of the world, even as I am not of it." John 17:16

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Infinite wisdom directs every event! 
(John Dagg)

"The Lord does whatever pleases Him--in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths!" Psalm 135:5-6It should fill us with joy, that God's infinite wisdom guides the affairs of the world! 

Many of its events are shrouded in darkness and mystery, and inextricable confusion sometimes seems to reign.

Often wickedness prevails, and God seems to have forgotten the creatures that He has made.

Our own path through life is dark and devious, and beset with difficulties and dangers.

How full of consolation is the doctrine, that infinite wisdom directs every event, brings order out of confusion, and light out of darkness--and, to those who love God, His infinite wisdom causes all things, whatever their present aspect and apparent tendency is, to work together for good!

"We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!" Romans 8:28

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Death, to the believer!(Mary Winslow)

"I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!" Philippians 1:23

Death, to the believer, is but passing out of a world of sorrow and of sin--and entering upon a world of indescribable glory!

If we lived more in anticipation of the happiness that waits us--earth would have less hold on our hearts' best affections.
 "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ--set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above--not on earthly things!" Colossians 3:1-2

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Ten thousand times more precious!

(William Dyer, "Christ's Famous Titles")

"To you who believe--He is precious!" 1 Peter 2:7

Christ is MOST precious! Oh, sirs! angels are precious, saints are precious, friends are precious, Heaven is precious--but Christ is ten thousand times more precious than these!

A believer had rather have Christ without Heaven--than Heaven without Christ! "Whom have I in Heaven but You? and there is none on earth that I desire besides You!" Psalm 73:25. Let a believer search Heaven and earth--and yet he will find nothing comparable to Christ. To be like to Him--is our happiness! To draw near to Him--is our holiness! You see, beloved, life is precious, freedom is precious, health is precious, peace is precious, food and clothing are precious, gold and silver are precious, kingdoms and crowns are precious. Indeed they are, in their places--but nothing is as precious as Jesus Christ!

Mark, sirs, what the apostle says, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ!" Philippians 3:7-8.

The believer is the only blessed man, the only happy man, the only rich man. Revelation 21:7, "He who overcomes shall inherit all things." Oh what a glorious inheritance are they born to--who are new-born! All things are theirs--and they shall inherit all things! What can they desire, more than all? All that Christ has, is theirs!
His wisdom is theirs to teach them,
His love is theirs to pity them,
His Spirit is theirs to comfort them,
His righteousness is theirs to justify them,
His power is theirs to protect them, and
His glory is theirs to crown them!

Oh, sirs! Christ cannot but be most precious to a believer--because all his precious comforts come from Christ. The Lord Jesus is . . .
  fairer than the fairest,
  sweeter than the sweetest,
  nearer than the nearest,
  dearer than the dearest,
  richer than the richest, and
  better than the best!

"Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved--and this is my Friend!" Song of Songs 5:16 

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GOLGOTHA

By Newman Hall

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Mark 15:22

Jesus to Golgotha? The perfectly pure One—He who was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners—He, brought to a spot regarded as the most polluted and defiled, where skulls and bones marked the place of public execution, and which was branded with the anathema of all—Jesus to Golgotha? Jesus—the greatest Philanthropist whom the world has ever known—who went about doing good, whose life was love—He, brought to the place to which were dragged the violent and the dishonest, the assassin and the murderer—Jesus to Golgotha? Jesus—the incarnate Deity—to whom all power was given in heaven and on earth, whose will the armies of heaven obey—He, seized by wicked men, and dragged as if He were a helpless victim of their cruelty, instead of being their Monarch and their Judge—Jesus to Golgotha?

They bring Him—and He comes! They could not have brought Him against His will. One thought in opposition to their malice would have rescued Him from their impotent grasp. Therefore, if they brought Him, it was because He did not resist them. He said of His own life, "No man takes it from me—I lay it down of myself." Why, then, did He allow Himself to be led to Golgotha—the pure to the place of impurity, the 'benevolent One' to a spot identified with violence—the 'omnipotent One', as if, like common culprits dragged there, he was helpless?

Because He was pure and holy He went to Golgotha; for thus He fulfilled the purposes of the Father, as He said, "I delight to do Your will, O my God."

Because He was benevolent He went to Golgotha; for thus it was He must accomplish the redemption of the sinful race He came to save.

Because He was the Son of God He went to Golgotha; for it was with a view to this very hour that He took our nature, and was found in fashion as a man, "made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death." And so "they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha."

Golgotha was a spot of all others the most disgraceful; and so He who occupied the loftiest seat of honor in heaven stooped to the very lowest, in order to lift up to the highest those for whom Golgotha had been a more fitting place.

Golgotha was a region of death. Here was the palace of the last enemy; here he held his revels. It was death's chief temple; here ghastly sacrifices were continually offered up. Here, at the very citadel of death, they led Christ to do battle with death.

Golgotha! There is a legend that it was the very center of the earth's surface—the middle point of the habitable globe. We think nothing of the legend, but very much of the truth it suggests. For the cross of Christ is the true center of the church, where all believers meet, of all tribes and nations, of all parties and sects. Here all may forget their differences; here all, who from different directions converge, are one church.

Golgotha! There is a legend that the body of Adam was buried there, and that the blood of Christ trickled down until it reached the bones; which then were clothed again with flesh and revived. We think nothing of the legend, but very much of the truth which it suggests. For when by faith the blood of Christ is applied to our guilty souls, the old Adam, dead by sin, lives again, but lives renewed and purified. Christ is the second Adam, who remedies the ruin of the first, and by whom paradise lost becomes paradise regained.

Golgotha! It was the "place of a skull." And all are going there. Every possession, every enjoyment, has death for its goal. However beautiful the path, it leads us ever onward to Golgotha. How closely does affection bind us to our friends! But they, too, are traveling to Golgotha; and every day brings us nearer to that "place of a skull." Those who have everything to make life happy, as well as those to whom life is a dreary waste of disappointment, are on their way to Golgotha! Those who are radiant with health and beauty, as well as those who are sickly or deformed, and to whom existence is a burden, are on their way to Golgotha! Those who have riches, and honor, and fame, and power, as well as the poor, the unknown or despised, are on their way to Golgotha!

But if by faith we are disciples and followers of Jesus, our Golgotha is changed by His. No longer the place of a skull, it becomes the gateway of glory. Sorrow turns to joy, sickness to health, poverty to riches, when, in company with Jesus, we are on our way to Golgotha. Yes, afflictions all become blessings, and death is life, through the grace of Him who was led to Golgotha.

Then we will look to Golgotha no longer as the place of a skull, but as the Hill of Paradise, the Mount of Salvation. Golgotha? It is where the lily and the rose exhale their fragrance. Golgotha? It is where the Tree of Life grows, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, and whose fruit is ever fresh. Golgotha? It is where the river bursts forth, which flows in every direction for the salvation of the world. Golgotha? It is thence that we catch distant but transporting views of the glories of the heavenly city, and see the open gates of the New Jerusalem inviting us to enter. Golgotha? It is where heavenly breezes blow, and the Sun of Righteousness shines, and where angel voices sing, "Lift your eyes; O, lift your eyes unto this hill, where comes—where comes help." Yes, we will lift our eyes to this Hill of Salvation, and triumph in this place of a skull—mysterious, life-giving, glorious Golgotha.

"They gave him to drink, wine mingled with myrrh, but He received it not." This was the customary drugged draught, intended to stupefy, and thus deaden pain. It may sometimes be thought necessary to administer such a dose to a dying person; but the responsibility is very great of giving it to a patient who has but a few days or hours to live, and whose real life is thus cut short, inasmuch as all power of thought is destroyed. There was a woman, of whom I heard, who, in her last illness, entreated her physician, saying, "O, doctor, do let me go before my Maker sober." But whatever we suffer, Christ suffered. He endured without mitigation all the pain of that most painful death. Alleviations of suffering are allowed to us, and may be received with thankfulness; but Jesus died as a sacrifice, and would neither avail Himself of His divine power or of human expedients to escape any portion of the trial, and so when "they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh He would not drink." He would not allow His mind to be for a moment incapacitated for His great work, and so "He would not drink." He had to implore forgiveness for His murderers, and so "He would not drink." He had to manifest sympathy for His mother, and commend her to another's care, and so "He would not drink." He had to receive the prayer of the dying thief, and to assure him of paradise, and so "He would not drink." He had to maintain the battle with the foe, and to cry with the loud voice of victory, "It is finished," and so "He would not drink."

"And they crucified Him." They tore off His clothing, which the sick had touched for healing. With cruel nails they fastened to the cross the feet which had borne Him about on errands of mercy, and the hands which had been stretched out only to bless. They raised Him up to be an object of their scorn, while His life's blood slowly ebbed away. Hear the blows of the hammer which drives in those nails! Hear them, you careless ones! Jesus was crucified for you. Can you neglect the salvation which cost Him so dear? "Is it nothing to you, all you that pass by?"

Who nailed Him there? Was it the priests? Was it Pilate? Was it the soldiers? It was our sins—yours and mine. Those sins struck the hammer. We crucified Him. O, let us hate those sins; let us renounce them forever. Backslider, will you crucify the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame? Shall we repeat, in any degree, so far as we are able, the insults of His murderers? Lord, forgive us that we should ever have pierced You. Henceforth may we crucify the world, our sins, ourselves. Henceforth let us trust, adore, and love You as our only Savior, our Lord, our Friend, reigning now on Your glorious throne, though once, for our redemption, crucified at Golgotha.